The Youngstown State volleyball team fought off five match points in the third set and overcame a pair of five-point deficits in the fifth in a 3-2 victory at Oakland on Tuesday evening. The set scores were 23-25, 21-25, 31-29, 25-19, 15-12.
The Penguins improved to 9-12 overall, and they matched their conference win total from 2021 by upping their Horizon League record to 3-7. Oakland, which beat YSU 3-1 in Youngstown on Sept. 27, is now 9-13 overall and 5-5 in conference play.
YSU had several players step up with notable individual performances in the victory. Sophomore outside hitter Paula Gursching continued her recent tear by notching a match-best 29 kills on 69 attempts while posting a .333 attack percentage. She added 15 digs for a double-double. Josi Borum posted her nation-leading eighth triple-double of the season with 11 kills, 23 aces and 18 digs, Isabel Schaefbauer had 30 assists, and Kiyah Franklin registered 10 kills.
Defensively for the Penguins, Julia Sell led all players with eight blocks, Isidora Sisic recorded 23 digs, and Dayan Malave had three of her five blocks in the fifth set.
Patti Cesarini had 19 kills, and Emily Wichmann registered a match-high 31 digs for Oakland.
The Penguins led 21-20 in each of the first two sets, but Oakland rallied in both to take a two-set lead.
After the Penguins led 21-20 in the opening set, a Gursching kill made it 23-23. Oakland got a sideout on a kill by Cesarini, and a kill by Libby Gentile followed to give the home team a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, Oakland called timeout at 21-20 and proceeded to score five straight points after the break. Cesarini and Jessica Riedl blocked Borum for the sideout, and two kills, an attack error and an ace followed in the 5-0 run.
The Golden Grizzlies led 12-7 to force a YSU timeout in the third set, and the Penguins answered with a 9-3 run to take a 16-15 advantage. The lead traded hands twice before Oakland went up 24-22 for its first of five match points. The Penguins stayed alive at 24-22, 24-23, 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26, and they finally prevailed on their third set point opportunity at 30-29. Following a kill by Gursching that made the score 30-29, Franklin's kill ended the set at 31-29.
The teams played within three points of each other the entire fourth set until a kill by Sell gave the Penguins a 21-17 lead. Oakland got a sideout to get back within three, but YSU did not allow the Golden Grizzlies to get any closer and closed out the set at 25-19.
After YSU took a 2-1 lead in the fifth set, Oakland scored six straight points to take a 7-2 advantage. The margin was five again at 9-4, but the Penguins regrouped during a timeout and outscored the Golden Grizzlies 11-3 to close out the match. YSU got to within 10-9 on an ace by Abbie Householder, and it caught Oakland at 11-11 on an attack error. Another attack error followed to put the Penguins ahead 12-11 for their first lead since it was 2-1, and YSU scored the final three points of the match on two Gursching kills and an ace by Borum.
Youngstown State will return to Beeghly Center for a pair of matches this weekend. The Penguins will host Green Bay on Friday at 6 p.m., and they'll take on Milwaukee on Saturday at 4 p.m.
